Craft Product Review: Precious Metals Colors by Viva-Decor

I’ll start off by saying that I love paint, and have a deep-in-my-soul love affair with glimmer and shimmer. For those reasons, Precious Metal Colors by Viva-Decor is my new g0-to paint.

When the paints arrived in the mail, I couldn’t wait to try them out. The paints can be used for many surfaces, but for this review, I used them on paper, cardboard, glass, and a sealed wood surface. (I promise I’ll do a follow up review on polymer clay!)

My first project was toÂ painta recycled-cardboard box with the pink color.Â To use the paint, you’ll need to shake the bottleÂ Â for 10 seconds or so to re-mix the mica particles that have settled to the bottom. The mica re-integrated easily into the paint, and when I poured it into my tray, the paint was smooth and creamy. It’s not as thick as some other mica-infused acrylics on the market, and I’d say the viscosity is somewhere between syrup and honey consistancy.

I put my first layer of paint on my recycled box with a foam brush. i found that it went on easily, but because my surface had printing on it, it needed two coats for sure.Â I even opted for a third, just using my finger to liberally spread around the paint. (Messy, but fun.) I found that applying the paint in this manner made it look almost like metal foil! The color was rich and vibrant.

Moving on to another “upcycled” craft, I used Precious Metal Colors in green to paint over a plain, glossy black frame. I did no prep to the surface, just brushed the paint on top. It covered the black frame beautifully, and again took 2 coats. Precious Metal Colors has a great “grab” to it, and even thought I didn’t sand, it adhered well. You can see the first coat as pictured in the first photo on this post, and the final project is here:

I used the paint for the chipboard letters, too! LOVE!

The packaging says it’s good for non-porous surfaces, so next I literally poured some of the paint in an old votive glass. I swirled it around and then smoothed it out a bit just jusing my finger. (I use my fingers to paint alot, as you can see.) Wow! This effect is impressive. the paint actually sticks to the glass, and gives the feeling of silvered glass. The mica flecks show through the glas as well, making it wonderfully glimmery!

The effect on the glass is almost like it's silvered...

To finish of my Precious Metal Colors playdate, I used some nice thick watercolor paper and just painted random swatches, occasionally blending with a water mister. Again, these colors are jam-packed with mica, and you could see them swirling around on the surface. Amazing. I could barely wait for the paint to dry so I could make a mixed-media art tag.

Photos can't do this paint justice

Friends, I have to tell you I was excited about these paints when I saw them on the shelf at CHA, and getting them at home in my studio didn’t disappoint….and I can’t wait to have time to check them out on fabric and polymer clay, too!

Fast Facts from the manufacturer:

metal-look water-based “varnish”

1-3 hours to dry,Â depending on the surface and conditions

use a synthetic or foam brush (or fingers)

water clean-up

high opacity

28 fabulous colors

I’d give you the “pros” and “cons” of this product…but really, there are no “cons”- unless it’s limited availability. If you love shimmery, glimmery, vibrant, metallic paint colors for your crafts, this is it!

I just painted names of guests for a party onto wine glasses using this paint. The next morning I noticed one had a bit of a glob so in trying to smooth it out, with minimal pressure, the whole letter rubbed off. I am baking glasses in 275 oven for 30 minutes now hoping to have paint adhere. Any suggestions – have you painted on anything glass that would need to be washed? I’m afraid paint will wash right off the glasses!

Cindy- this paint is not indicated for using on glass that is anything but DECORATIVE. (No food/drink use!) For that, you need a porcelain paint or paint pen, as those are meant to be cured and then can be hand-washed and is food safe. PermEnamel paints by Delta have a good reputation! Hope this helps, Jenny

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Hi! I’m Jenny, the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS and the Head Dummy behind CraftTestDummies.com where you’ll find craft product reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news.

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CraftTestDummies is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Jenny Barnett Rohrs is Head Dummy and Pied Piper behind CTD, which focuses on reviews, tutorials, and craft industry news. Jenny has appeared on HSN, Scrapbook Soup PBS series, and is currently the co-host of Hands On Crafts for Kids on PBS.

Copyrighted Content Permission All images and tutorials on this blog are copyrighted material. Please contact me if you would like to borrow any media (photos, video or audio files), tutorials, or ideas from this blog. 99% of the time I would be happy to allow you to use one photo with appropriate credit and link back to CraftTestDummies.com (preferably to the same post it was borrowed from.)